Ukraine Update Day 1,035….Putin gives NO Ground…..

• Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has visited the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and declared “unwavering” support for Ukraine in the aftermath of a Russian attack on the northern city of Sumy that killed 35 people. Rutte said the military alliance was still strongly behind Kyiv, even as it also supported the ceasefire push by US president Donald Trump, who has issued fresh criticism of Zelenskyy, accusing him of starting the war. “Nato stands with Ukraine,” Rutte said at a press conference with Zelenskyy on Tuesday. “You and I know that this has been true all along. I also know that some have called Nato’s support into question in the last couple of months. But let there be no doubt: our support is unwavering.” Rutte also said: “Russia is the aggressor, Russia started this war. There’s no doubt.” Zelenskyy said the main focus of the talks was strengthening Ukraine’s air defence. “Absolutely everyone sees how urgent Ukraine’s need is for air defence systems and missiles for them,” he posted on X.

• Ukraine’s military said it had hit a base belonging to the Russian rocket brigade that conducted the Palm Sunday missile attack on Sumy. The Ukrainian strike caused a “secondary detonation of ammunition” and the results “are being clarified”, the military said on Telegram on Tuesday. World leaders have condemned the Sumy attack, Ukraine’s deadliest of 2025, and Zelenskyy called it an act of deliberate terror. Ukraine moved on Tuesday to dismiss Sumy governor Volodymyr Artyukh after he made comments implying the Russian attack had targeted a military gathering.

• Sweden said it had summoned the Russian ambassador to its foreign ministry to protest against Moscow’s attacks on Ukraine’s cities and civilian population. “Russia’s responsibility to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure in accordance with international humanitarian law was emphasised to the Russian ambassador during his appearance,” the Swedish foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

• China rejected what it called “manipulation and hype” around two of its nationals captured in Ukraine after Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of dragging Beijing into the war and said hundreds of Chinese nationals were fighting on the frontline. “China is verifying the relevant information and circumstances,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said about the prisoners of war, urging “relevant parties to accurately understand China’s objective and impartial stance”. Ukraine held a press conference on Monday at which the two Chinese prisoners of war under armed guard said they hoped to be in a prisoner swap and warned other Chinese nationals not to go to fight.

• A Ukrainian drone strike on the Russian city of Kursk killed an elderly woman and wounded nine others on Tuesday, local authorities said. Six of the injured were hospitalised for shrapnel wounds, burns and head injuries, they said. A Kyiv official alluded to the attack on social media but claimed a military target had been hit in the regional capital, about 90km from the Ukrainian border.

• A Russian military court has sentenced five young people for up to 18 years in jail after finding them guilty of setting fire to railway infrastructure and a helicopter outside Moscow last year, the state news agency Tass reported. It cited state prosecutors as saying that the group – then aged 19 to 22 – had acted on the orders of people close to Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency. GUR posted video at the time purporting to show the helicopter – which it said belonged to the Russian defence ministry – on fire, but it did not claim responsibility for the attack…..

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ISW….Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 15, 2025

• Two high-ranking members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle reiterated Putin’s June 2024 non-negotiable demands that any resolution of the war in Ukraine must result in regime change, extensive territorial concessions, and long-term limitations on Ukraine’s military after US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff’s April 11 meeting with Putin.
• Kremlin officials continue to set informational conditions to demand that Ukraine surrender territory that Russia does not currently occupy and to justify Russia’s ambitions of asserting control over independent countries, including NATO member states.
• Naryshkin threatened a Russian attack against NATO states in response to NATO states building up their defenses in line with US President Donald Trump’s push for Europe to increase its own defense capabilities.
• Lavrov reiterated Putin’s rejection of Trump’s proposal for a 30-day full ceasefire.
• Russia may recognize the end of the 30-day energy infrastructure strikes ceasefire soon and intensify its long-range strikes against Ukraine, but the exact parameters of the ceasefire — including its end date — remain unclear.
• Ukraine’s National Guard announced on April 15 the formation of two new army corps on the basis of two existing brigades, amid Ukraine’s continued efforts to transition to a corps structure.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Toretsk and Pokrovsk, and Russian forces recently advanced near Velyka Novosilka and in western Zaporizhia Oblast.

Daily Kos grunt report for Today….